CAROLINA HERRERA

“I have a responsibility to the woman of today – to make her feel confident, modern and above all else beautiful.” - Carolina Herrera Continually pushing the boundaries of style with her juxtaposition of classicism and modernity, Carolina Herrera has resided at the helm of her eponymous label for decades of fervent acclaim. Proving with each new season that sensibility paired in tandem with femininity and a concentration on all things contemporary, Herrera has outfitted women worldwide with an aesthetic all her own. With the endorsement of legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, she presented her first capsule at the Metropolitan Club, which at the time was as New York iconic as Herrera herself has now become. Paralleling the identities of Manhattan’s chicest, Herrera’s collection was well received both commercially and editorially and thus her fashion house was born over thirty years ago. “For me it’s always been about New York. It’s where fashion begins and ends. It is who we are.” Opening her atelier shortly after her inaugural show, cultivating a couture team with the finest of training and pedigree, Herrera built an empire, consequently aligning her name synonymously with New York City and all things luxury. Forever concluding her ready to wear shows with a wedding gown, Herrera introduced her bridal line in 1987. Approaching bridal collections with the diversity and progressive style innate in her ready to wear collections, Herrera cornered the market for brides in search of a more fashion conscious offering. Since the bridal collection’s conception, Herrera has outfitted alter bound brides such as Caroline Kennedy and Kristen Stewart’s character Bella Swan in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”. Finding resonance on the runway, down the aisle and in the pages of fashion magazines, Herrera soon found a new home on the red carpet, dressing stars both on the rise and Hollywood iconic. With her ready to wear and bridal collections firmly in place, she launched her first fragrance, Carolina Herrera Eau de Parfum, and has since released 10 additional fragrances for both men and women. The first Carolina Herrera New York flagship opened its doors in 2000 on Madison Avenue and Herrera currently counts flagship boutiques in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and Bal Harbour. As a continuation of the runway collection Herrera introduced CH Carolina Herrera in 2001, a lifestyle sportswear offering with ready to wear and accessories for men, women and children. Currently Carolina Herrera has a retail presence in over 15,000 points of sale in 104 countries with plans for further expansion. Hailed as “Fashions First Lady”, Herrera was named the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2004 and honored with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Acting as a mentor and critic to graduating design students for years, Herrera recently received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Herrera has also served as an ambassador for the American Cancer Society and the Intergovernmental Institution in the fight against malnutrition. With both a global focus and an adoration for the sum of all things beautiful, she is Carolina Herrera. “You must always keep your eyes open. Beauty finds you that way.”